Poetry Is Pretentious

The Idea 

We used to think that emulation was bad—a writer should develop their own voice. We now believe that those things are not mutually exclusive. Your voice as a writer has been shaped by all the poets and poems you have read before. 

This project is but another way to experience the world, to read widely, and to write in ways we never thought possible. Sam and I wanted to turn this into a competition because, well, we love competing. We find that it often spurns us to create things that would not have been possible otherwise. It brings out the best in both of us, so we set up rules for this competition which we are calling “The Rules of Engagement.” 

The Rules of Engagement

1. One participant selects the poet to emulate each week.
2. The choice alternates every week.
3. We have one week to read the poet of choice & write all of our poems 
4. Each person submits 5 final poems to the Judge 
5. The Judge will blindly rank the poems from best emulated to worst
6. The Judge will also blindly rank the poems by favorite to least favorite
7. Each person can write as many poems as they like
8. Each person can submit to journals and magazines as much as they like
9. Every week we compete for Stakes

Scoring

The scoring is done anonymously – the judge does not who wrote each poem.

Best Emulated poems are worth the most points. The first place poem in that category is worth 25 points, second is worth 19, third is 18, scaling all the way down to 11.

The first place Favorite Poem is worth 15 points, second is 9, third is 8 scaling down to 1.

Poems that are accepted to literary magazines and journals double their total points.

For example, if the Best Emulated poem of the week also gets published, it is worth 50 points instead of 25.

Publishing a poem written in emulation that is not submitted to the Judge is only worth 5 points, and does not serve to double any of the results.

Gentleman’s Rules

Should Sam & Corey choose to be gentlemen, they adhere to the following rules:

1. Be transparent with what you’re reading for inspiration
2. Share access to what you’re reading
3. Share the occasional poem during the week so that your opponent can gauge where they’re at

FAQ

How long does the competition last?
Poetry is Plagiarism will continue in perpetuity. Each unique poet that we are emulating will go on for a week.

How do you decide who wins?
Our friend Danielle will be the Judge each week. She will rank the poems on two metrics. First, she will create a list of poems ranked 1-10 on Best Emulation. These are poems she thinks best represent the author. Then, she will create a list ranked 1-10 on Favorite Poems. This one is pretty self-explanatory.

What are the Stakes?
The Stakes are a way for us to compete for something other than pride. Each week, the Stakes will change.

The two caveats on what qualifies as valid stakes are that it must be something we would not do normally. Secondly, the Stakes must be fun. No one is suffering because they don’t sound like Shakespeare.

For example, it can’t be as simple as buying beer for the winner—we do that anyway. It also can’t be something like, “Go recite your poetry on the corner of Boulevard.”

We’re just looking for a fun experience. The loser of week 1, to illustrate, is in charge of buying the ingredients, and making Kimchi Hotdogs for Japanese Baseball night. Someone is out 10 bucks, but we both get a delicious dinner. 

How do you select the poets?
The choice of who to emulate switches every week. One week, Corey can choose Charles Bukowski, the next Sam could choose William Carlos Williams.

Picking the poet can be strategic (I feel confident writing like Charles Bukowski) or based on interest (I really want to read more or write more like Williams). Ultimately, we are just trying to have fun, and learn something new along the way. We both love winning, though, so who can say what will happen. 

What’s the deal with the journals?
Each week, we have the opportunity to submit the poems we write for this project to literary zines, journals, and anywhere in between. We will always submit to the same journals in an effort at fairness.

Publishing, and being published, is incredibly fun. Publishing in a journal also has the ability to increase our final scores.

What is the scoring system?
Best Emulated poems are worth the most points. The first place poem in that category is worth 25 points, second is worth 19, third is 18, scaling all the way down to 11.

The first place Favorite Poem is worth 15 points, second is 9, third is 8 scaling down to 1. Poems that are accepted to literary magazines and journals double their total points.

For example, if the Best Emulated poem of the week also gets published, it is worth 50 points instead of 25. Publishing a poem written in emulation that is not submitted to the Judge is only worth 5 points, and does not serve to double any of the results.